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Laurel Man Pleads Guilty to Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme Involving More Than $1.5 Million in Losses

Summary

A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland, dated November 15, 2023, announcing that Michael Akame Ngwese Ay Makoge pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft in a Maryland and California unemployment insurance scheme. According to the plea agreement, from March 2020 to October 2021 Makoge and co-conspirators used victims' personal identifying information to submit fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance benefits paid onto debit cards. The release states that a search on February 16, 2021 recovered 11 UI debit cards in the names of six victims, and that Makoge personally obtained at least $35,540 through ATM withdrawals. U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson has scheduled sentencing for February 1, 2024.

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“Laurel Man Pleads Guilty to Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme Involving More Than $1.5 Million in Losses.” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2023-11-16-laurel-man-pleads-guilty-to-unemployment-insurance-fraud-sc-2d00e9eb58/, SHA-256 8acbdb06df7aa96e9ef50c3230b12a54c13c7303e9ee5c73d38bead3a6938560.

Full text

 November 15, 2023                                                    Contact MARCIA LUBIN
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        at (410) 209-4854
 www.justice.gov/usao/md

   LAUREL MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FRAUD
        SCHEME INVOLVING MORE THAN $1.5 MILLION IN LOSSES

    The Defendant and his Co-Conspirators Submitted over 200 Fraudulent Unemployment
           Insurance Claims Using the Personal Identifying Information of Victims

       Baltimore, Maryland – Michael Akame Ngwese Ay Makoge, a/k/a “Hype” and “2Hype”,
age 28, of Laurel, Maryland pleaded guilty yesterday to a wire fraud conspiracy and to
aggravated identity theft, in relation to a Maryland and California unemployment insurance
scheme totaling more than $1.5 million.

        The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland
Erek L. Barron; Postal Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service - Washington Division (USPIS); Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer of the
National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG);
Chief Amal E. Awad of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; Special Agent in Charge
James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Colonel Roland L.
Butler, Jr., Superintendent of the Maryland State Police (MSP); and Special Agent in Charge
Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore
Field Division.

        According to his plea agreement, from March 2020 to October 2021, Makoge and his co-
conspirators impersonated victims to submit fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance (UI)
benefits in Maryland and California. As part of the scheme, Makoge and his co-conspirators
obtained the birthdates, social security numbers, and other personal identifying information of
numerous victims which they used to prepare and submit fraudulent applications for UI
benefits. The applications contained false information, including the victims’ contact
information, states of residence, and availability for work. These fraudulent applications caused
financial institutions to load UI benefits onto debit cards and mail the cards to physical addresses
provided and monitored by Makoge and his co-conspirators. Once Makoge and his co-
conspirators received the fraudulently obtained benefits on the debit cards, they used them for
cash withdrawals and other transactions for their own financial benefit.
        A search at Makoge’s residence on February 16, 2021, recovered 11 UI debit cards in the
names of six victims from the bedroom. The investigation also revealed numerous text messages
between Makoge and his co-conspirators exchanging the PII of victims and discussing the
execution of the UI fraud scheme. Further, Makoge made numerous ATM withdrawals using the
identities of victims, personally obtaining at least $35,540 as a result of his participation in the
scheme. In all, Makoge and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent UI claims using the names
and PII of at least 12 victims, resulting in more than $1.6 million in losses.

       Makoge faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for the wire fraud
conspiracy and a mandatory two years in federal prison, consecutive to any other sentence
imposed, for aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson has scheduled
sentencing for February 1, 2024, at 11:00 a.m.

         On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement
Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies
across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task
Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international
criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud
by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms,
identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing
and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more
information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please
visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

         Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can
report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF)
Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form
at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

        United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the USPIS, DOL-OIG, the Anne
Arundel County Police Department, HSI, MSP, and ATF, for their work in the
investigation. Mr. Barron thanked the United States Marshals Service, the Prince George’s
County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Washington, D.C.
Metropolitan Police Department and the Charles County Sheriff’s Office for their
assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen McGuinn, who is prosecuting
the federal case.

        For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and
resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and
https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

                                               ###

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